Malawi vs South Africa: Probability that a man will outlive a woman
Malawi
38.9%
in 2023
South Africa
39.0%
in 2023
Malawi rank
127th
South Africa rank
125th
Probability that a man will outlive a woman over time
- Malawi
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 39.0% against 38.9% in Malawi, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Africa ahead.
Malawi ranks 127th and South Africa ranks 125th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 7 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 46.7% | 46.5% | 0.2% | Malawi |
| 1960s | 47.0% | 44.5% | 2.5% | Malawi |
| 1970s | 46.7% | 43.5% | 3.2% | Malawi |
| 1980s | 46.0% | 40.9% | 5.1% | Malawi |
| 1990s | 47.1% | 39.7% | 7.4% | Malawi |
| 2000s | 45.8% | 44.4% | 1.4% | Malawi |
| 2010s | 41.3% | 40.8% | 0.6% | Malawi |
| 2020s | 38.6% | 39.9% | 1.3% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher probability that a man will outlive a woman, Malawi or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 39.0% against 38.9% in Malawi as of 2023.
- What is the difference in probability that a man will outlive a woman between Malawi and South Africa?
- 0.1%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and South Africa?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Malawi and South Africa rank globally for probability that a man will outlive a woman?
- Malawi ranks 127th and South Africa ranks 125th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Probability that a man will outlive a woman. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Probability that a male will live longer than a female if both are randomly selected from the population at birth.